The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1188 All is Quiet
Gradually, the Angelica Film Center became lively.

The audience for the 2:45 show arrived one after another. Their faces were filled with anticipation and excitement, which could be felt from their body language. The chattering of discussions continued to faintly echo in the air.

Logically, the audience should have left when the previous show ended, but there was no movement in the theater, so the staff had to push open the door and kindly remind them that the screening was over, and only then did there finally be movement.

Compared with the audience waiting to enter, the audience leaving the screening room was a little quieter. The two groups of people stood in the hall and met each other. Occasionally, they had some discussions, but it did not last long, and they each staggered and continued to move forward.

This scene revealed a bit of confusion in the eyes of the Wood brothers.

But there was no need to wait too long, Lucas was able to understand through personal experience——

After the screening of “Elephant,” Lucas sat quietly, not speaking or moving.

The occupancy rate of the entire screening room exceeded 90%, and the number of empty seats was clearly visible; at this moment, all the audience members remained silent and did not move, the subtitles on the big screen moved slowly, reflecting different lights and shadows in everyone's pupils, and emotions continued to stir in their minds.

Everything is quiet.

This kind of silence is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The bad part is that such things still happen in real life, and no one can predict where they will happen again in the next second.

The positive thing is that the movie can inspire people to start thinking again.

Including Anson himself is no exception.

Watching it again, the shock, the sigh, the helplessness are still surging. Some tragedies will not turn into a habit just because they are watched more times; at the same time, some works will reveal more details after multiple appreciations, and then produce new feelings. The photography, lighting, sound effects, etc. weave a big net that quietly grabs the heart and slowly tightens.

It’s hard to imagine that this is just an “ordinary” day, an ordinary day.

Of course, everyone knows that the so-called ordinary is not ordinary.

But in fact, in Anson's opinion, the focus of the movie is not in the last fifteen minutes, but in the first half.

In Gus Van Sant's lens, he focuses on the undercurrents hidden beneath the surface of calm daily life.

The damage has already happened.

"Damage" is not only about bleeding, and "damage" is not only about physical attacks.

Prejudice. Discrimination. Indifference. Turning a blind eye.

They are more powerful than the storm in the film's final fifteen minutes.

Imagine what would happen to Peter Parker in "Spider-Man" if he hadn't been bitten by a spider and gained super powers?
He is the "elephant", a nerd that can be seen everywhere on campus. He has visible and invisible scars on his body, just like everyone else.

Therefore, when similar things happen, people tend to only pay attention to the most superficial and direct things: weapons, just like the spell in the Harry Potter movie, "Disarmament"; however, if the problem is not solved from the root level, "Disarmament" is ultimately only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

But how easy is that?
Why is it that after something happens, people often "only" pay attention to the surface phenomena and refuse to explore the inner essence in depth?
Because it's difficult.

Precisely because people know the difficulty of solving problems at the essential level, even great wise men find it difficult to come up with solutions in a short period of time, so people can only hurriedly try to solve superficial problems, try to ease the situation, and buy some breathing space before things get worse.

Unfortunately, they failed again and again, encountered setbacks again and again, and finally watched the world engulfed in flames.

This is the cruelest and most helpless reality.

So, does Anson have an answer?
Unfortunately, he didn't either. When he realized this, the helplessness and despair weighed down on him like a huge shadow.

then.

Anson sat quietly in the chair in the screening room, staring at the big screen, listening to the trivial sounds in the air, his breathing gradually slowed down and became lighter, the sound of his heart gently hitting his chest burning in the flames, slowly, slowly falling in the endless deep blue and falling into darkness.

It was not until the staff of Angelica Film Center spoke up to remind them that their broken souls, scattered in the endless darkness, were brought back to reality.

I left in a daze, the cold air hit me in the face, the lazy New York winter sunshine sprinkled on the surface of my skin, bringing a hint of warmth, the chaotic and weightless thoughts finally returned to the ground, only then did I realize that I was standing at the door of Angelica Film Center.

Now, they finally understood what was going on with the audience in front of them.

There were a few audience members sitting scattered on the steps in front of the Angelica Film Center.

Some were expressing their opinions animatedly, even turning the discussion into heated arguments; some were sitting quietly on the steps, looking up at the sky through the gaps between Manhattan's skyscrapers; and some were whispering to comfort their depressed and lost companions.

Although the reactions were different, one could see how the shock and injury reacted differently on them.

Clearly, they really understood what Gus Van Sant was trying to accomplish with this film.

Lucas noticed that Anson stopped and his eyes lingered on the young audience, with confusion and sadness struggling in his eyes.

"Anson..." Lucas called softly.

Anson twitched his lips. "I was just wondering, what can we do? To heal these wounds, to solve those problems?"

"People expect superheroes to appear in real life, just like in Hollywood movies, coming down from the sky and solving problems easily."

"However, we all know that we can't wait."

Lucas thought about it seriously, "Keep creating, keep speaking out, and keep shooting meaningful works like this. Anson, you are on the right track."

Anson glanced at Lucas, "Really?"

Lucas looked Anson straight in the eye and nodded seriously, "Yeah."

Anson smiled. “Luka, even though I know you are trying to comfort me, I need this kind of comfort, at least to let me know that I am doing something.”

Lucas raised his chin slightly. "At least, you made me think. You know, capitalists like me usually don't think outside of profit."

"Haha." Anson was immediately amused. He looked at Lucas again. The serious look on his face made Anson unable to stop smiling.

Standing there, Anson looked around and said, "Luka, can you sit here with me?"

Lucas looked at the stairs in front of him with disgust, but Anson had already sat down first. Lucas sighed lightly and sat down as well.

But unexpectedly, Anson opened the guitar case, took out the guitar, placed it on his knees, and swept his fingertips across the strings casually and freely.

The notes jumped on the fingertips, slightly complicated, slightly chaotic, and slightly anxious, reflecting Anson's state of mind, and then slowly, slowly condensed, like a gurgling stream, evolving into a cool and tenacious force, flowing between the guitar strings.

(End of this chapter)